‘Modern Family’ Season 8 Cast, Updates: Sofia Vergara Shares Behind-the-Scenes Photographs with Co-stars During Photo Shoot; Ariel Winter Not Fired from Show

‘Modern Family’ star Sofia Vergara shared some behind-the-scenes photographs with her co-stars during a recent photo shoot to promote season 8. Meanwhile, Ariel Winter will continue to stay on the show despite rumors of her getting fired.

According to the Daily Mail, Vergara took to Instagram to share behind-the-scenes photographs during an all-white photo shoot for the incoming season of ABC’s popular sitcom. She captioned one of the posts, "So happy to be back with my American family #modernfamily." 

The 44-year old Colombian beauty, who plays Pritchett matriarch Gloria, reunited with fellow cast mates for a promotional photo shoot on July 25. She also posed with her on-screen family that includes Ed O’Neill as husband Jay Pritchett, Rico Rodriguez as son Manny Delgado and Pierce Wallace as son Joe Pritchett.

The show’s ensemble cast also consists of Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ariel Winter, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.

According to CBS8, they also got together for a table read as featured on the photograph shared by Ferguson. The 40-year old actor captioned the Instagram snap, "Flew to LA for the day for the first table read of Season 8! So great to see my Modern Family!"

Stonestreet, who plays Ferguson’s on-screen husband, also took a self-photograph with Vergara with the caption, "Do NOT tell the rest of them, but we are each other's favorite. #clearlyvisibleinthispicture." The two seem to have a close friendship off-screen.  

Meanwhile, rumors of Winter getting axed from the show turned out to be false, according to Gossip Cop. Initial reports alleged that the 18-year old actress will be fired from her role as Alex Dunphy to satisfy the salary requirements of Vergara, O’Neill, and Bowen. An unnamed source revealed that some of the younger actors will have to be cut out of the show entirely for season 8.

Co-creator and executive producer Steve Levitan denied the rumors saying, “Nothing could be further from the truth. Ariel is a beloved cast member and a crucial part of our show. While she is starting to attend classes this year at UCLA, we are happy to report that she’ll continue to be a part of Modern Family’s coming season.”

‘Modern Family’ is a television sitcom that premieres on ABC. It is styled as a mockumentary and follows Jay Pritchett and his extended family in suburban Los Angeles. Since the show’s premiere on September 2009, it received numerous awards and nominations including Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

Season 8 is set to premiere on ABC on September 21, 2016.